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How long can you survive the post-apocalyptic wastelands of NEO Scavenger? In the near-future, supernatural activity and human warfare have fragmented mankind into pockets of civilization struggling to survive in wild and dangerous lands. You awaken alone in an abandoned facility with no food nor water, and only a hospital gown and some mysterious items as clues to your identity. NEO Scavenger is a game where you must survive in the wasteland long enough to figure out who you are. Each turn you must decide where to go, how to scavenge for supplies, and how to deal with anything and anyone you encounter. And with each passing minute, the pit in your stomach grows, your dehydration worsens, your muscles tire, and your body temperature drops in the cold autumn air. Choose your starting abilities carefully, because they and your wit are the only tools you have in the apocalypse!

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Have a Suggestion? (Games : NEO Scavenger : Forum : Suggestions : Have a Suggestion?) Post Reply
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Mar 4 2013 Anchor

Hey Folks!

Since most of the suggestion discussions seem to be on bluebottlegames.com these days, I recommend posting ideas there instead of here. It's easier to keep track of them in a centralized place. Plus, other players are more likely to see the idea and offer suggestions of their own.

Thanks!
Dan

Jan 11 2014 Anchor

Perhaps Im doing things wrong but some suggestions.
1)Strong is ridiculously strong. Being able to rip apart an apartment doesnt tend to help in looting. It has a HUGE impact on how much you get in looting. Having brains and a keen eye does though. It doesnt take a hulk to toss over a bed. Strong allows way too many beneficial attributes. It seems to almost negate the purpose of "Athletic".

2)Make the bandits/raiders attack each other and have to sleep as well. Its impossible to ever sleep because all I do is sleep/rest+heal and the "bandits" just go back and forth over and over and over, attack when "resting" run away soon as you wake up, and the game turns into a press the sleep/heal+rest button. Ive used every possible method of stopping this from hiding, to beating the crap out of all of them. Its as if all of them attack you and nothing else and ONLY attack when you are in that mode. They never tire, they heal up almost instantly if not instantly and they seem to be 100% successful everytime they "run away" whereas I, even with the approporate traits, can only escape those pushing a cart(that was a test). Its one thing to have a difficult game. Its another to have it so that you can never survive more than like 30-40 moves. Never even have a chance to use any crafting but chopping up bodies, eating flesh and pressing sleep/rest+heal over and over as the enemies bounce back and forth.

3)Provide more water after "rain storms" and slightly lessen water requirements. Water requirements, even when normal, seem a bit ridiculous but then perhaps I missed something about the environmentals. One can live 2-3 days with no water. I personally have gone just over 24 hours with little difficulty. Ive had my character die in just over 14 hours from dehydration. After a rain storm I should be able to find a LOT of water. Even in a desert right after a rain and it soaking into the ground obtaining a good day or two worth of sustaining or at least extended water supplies is easy. Urban areas will actually have a fair level of water too as there are so many man made "basins" even in rubble.

4)More clothing. Unless you are in the middle of the woods clothing should be plentiful. Even with millions of people running around we have far more clothing than people use. Just look at ones home and you can see this. Now consider all the department stores and factories. Clothing would be ridiculously easy to obtain without having to kill everyone you come across.

5)Carrying containers, at least bags, should be far more plentiful. Again, in the woods they are non-existant but in the cities things like plastic bags should be scattered everywhere in vast quantities.

6)Surrending should work more often and there should be a mutual surrender where you both leave and there is no loss. I have yet to scare and force a surrender once. Even when they are totally messed up and Im fine with a weapon advantage. Every fight I have had to fight until I die or until they are dead. This tends to never be the case as most people wont even attack and as soon as real pain is involved usually both parties back off.

7)Bandits and Raiders that you have both mutually surrendered or perhaps even those that surrender to you should be eliminated from the game or marked as to not cause an encounter or at least a fight encounter.

8)When I am in an area and scavenge finds a build or even multiple buildings many times if I try to camp there are no buildings. Perhaps I missed something again but this seems odd.

This is more of a comment but at this point I havent bought the game because Ive been unable to play more than a 10-20minutes(perhaps a day in game) without dying. I realize this is a game but even in real life scenarios that quickness of death is extremely unlikely unless you were out partying like a mad man all night to within hours of the disaster and during which time ate nothing and drank no water and all you had on was a pair of shorts and sandles. Perople are not nearly as fragile as most think.

Edited by: iamnan1

Jan 14 2014 Anchor

Hey iamnan1,

Sorry for the late reply. I don't usually check these forums, since most people talk in the official forums (see OP). You have a lot of feedback here, so I'll try to address each point.

1) Using "strong" in an apartment is meant to symbolize getting into tough spaces that involves moving debris, or prying away fallen shelves or walls, not so much moving simple things like furniture. However, it's true that skills still need some balancing.

2) Bandits/raiders actually do attack each other, as do any two creatures of different factions. Also, all human creatures have the same healing and other metabolic rates as you, so everyone should heal/tire as quickly as you. Running away successfully requires a bit of strategy, and can depend on how badly you're outnumbered, the range (10+ is best), visibility, etc. Usually, though 10+ range is the biggest contributor to escape success. Finally, if you find an area to be overcrowded, it's usually worth leaving the area. Populations will increase around you if you're there too long. (Game is designed around a more nomadic style than agrarian.)

3) Have you tried crafting with any of the water source items? E.g. rivers, marshes, and lakes? You shouldn't have to go far to find infinite water in the game, as Michigan is a temperate climate. It's true that rain doesn't produce water in the game, which is unrealistic, but water shouldn't be scarce. Also, the current game code has dehydration set to 72 hours, so you should survive 3 days without water. If you're dying of dehydration sooner, you may be infected, bleeding, or otherwise compromised.

4-5) Some of the issues finding clothes/bags could be due to random loot generation. However, the game is also modeled after an apocalypse that happened decades ago. So you're not scavenging fresh houses and apartments. Indeed, most everything has already been picked over at least once, so little of the "easy" finds remain.

6) I am currently working on ceasefire and other, non-hostile options in the next build.

7) I disagree here. Those that have surrendered their gear to you have motive to hunt you down and get it back :)

8) It's true that the game is lacking campsite variety. I'm hoping I'll have time to add more options to each hex type in the future.

The game is hard, to be sure. However, there is also a certain amount of strategy and skill one needs to develop to survive. If you read over the official forums, you'll find a full range of players, including many who find the game too easy. In my mind, if there are players who think the game is too hard and others too easy, then the balance is probably just right.

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